he Office of National Marine Sanctuaries coordinates NOAA's effort
for the national Preserve America
program to recognize communities that protect and celebrate their heritage, use their
historic assets for economic development
and community revitalization, and encourage people to experience and appreciate
local historic resources through education
and heritage tourism programs. Since its
conception in 2003, nearly 800 communities across the nation have been designated
as Preserve America Communities, about
100 of which are located along the coast.

Coastal communities are the beginning
places of American history, and the national
marine sanctuaries are natural vehicles for
telling these compelling stories. The Office
of National Marine Sanctuaries has assisted
nearly 20 of these communities in achieving Preserve America designation, including two in 2009: the county of Kauai, which
borders the Hawaiian Islands Humpback
Whale National Marine Sanctuary, and Falmouth, Mass., adjacent to Stellwagen Bank
National Marine Sanctuary. Additionally,
through the work of Fagatele Bay National
Marine Sanctuary staff, America Samoa is
pending designation in 2010.

In summer 2009, the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Maritime Heritage Program
supported Nautical Archaeology Society training sessions in the Florida Keys National
Marine Sanctuary for members of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS)
and sanctuary staff. The course is designed to teach principles and practices of maritime
archaeology, and participants learned how to identify cultural resource sites and conduct
underwater mapping, conservation and reporting. The course included classroom activities
and field sessions at the City of Washington shipwreck on the sanctuary's Shipwreck Trail.
The training for NABS members is part of a new Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
education initiative called "Voyage to Discovery," which will explore the maritime heritage of
African-Americans and engage communities in marine conservation. Graduates of the training are expected to take part in future field work through the Voyage to Discovery program.

Joffre Shipwreck Listed on National Register of Historic Places

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary successfully nominated the sunken re-
mains of the Joffre to the National Register of Historic Places in March 2009. The
Joffre is an early 20th-century fishing vessel that represents a period of tremendous
technological changes in New England's fishing industry. The 105-foot vessel was
launched as a schooner in 1918 from Essex, Mass., and converted in 1939 into a motorized eastern-rig dragger, a type of trawler. The Joffre caught fire and sank in 1947
off Gloucester, Mass. During its 29 years of service, its crew landed over 15 million
pounds of fish. Scientists from NOAA and the National Undersea Research Center at
the University of Connecticut first documented the shipwreck in 2006 with a remotely
operated vehicle. The vessel is the first of its kind to be listed on the National Register,
the United States' list of historic properties worthy of preservation. The Joffre joins four
other shipwrecks in the Stellwagen Bank sanctuary already on the National Register.

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument archaeologists spent nearly three
weeks in August 2009 on isolated, wind-swept Mokumanamana (Necker Island) in the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. This survey of cultural resources on the island was
the most extensive in more than 85 years. The island had no inhabitants when the
first Europeans rediscovered it, categorizing it as a "mystery island," but there was
evidence of prior human occupation. The archaeological research will help reveal who
lived on the island, when and for how long. Researchers are working to determine
whether basalt artifacts from Mokumanamana were made locally or brought to the
island, suggesting a connection to other Pacific islands. One exciting discovery made
during the expedition was a rare "Necker Island stone image," a collection of which
was first rediscovered in 1894.

Sanctuary Expedition discovers Navy Patrol Boat Sunk in WWII

During a summer 2009 research expedition, NOAA archaeologists discovered the remains of a lost U.S. Navy vessel, the YP-389, just four miles from Monitor National
Marine Sanctuary. The shipwreck's discovery was the result of a collaboration involving staff from the Monitor sanctuary, East Carolina University, the University of North
Carolina at Wilmington, and the North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch. The
team explored the wreck site using a remotely operated vehicle and, with the aid of
archival photographs and historical records, positively identified the ship as the YP-389. This U.S. Navy vessel's final resting place had been unknown since it was sunk
during World War II in 1942 by the German submarine U-701.